Earlier this year, we reported that Syfy had given a 10 episode straight-to-series order to a show that claims to be inspired by (and takes its title from) George A. Romero's 1985 film DAY OF THE DEAD (watch it HERE), although the synopsis made it sound more like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (which you can watch HERE). Written by showrunners Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, the Day of the Dead series will tell the story of
six strangers trying to survive the first 24 hours of an undead invasion. This ode to Romero’s famous flesh-eaters reminds us that sometimes all it takes to bring people together is a horde of hungry zombies trying to rip them apart.
Day of the Dead is now filming in Vancouver, and it has been revealed that four of the ten episodes are being directed by Steven Kostanski, whose credits include MANBORG, FATHER'S DAY, THE VOID, LEPRECHAUN RETURNS, and the upcoming PSYCHO GOREMAN.
The names of five cast members have also been announced, along with information on the characters they're playing.
Keenan Tracey is playing Cam McDermott, "a high school senior and son of a local police detective who spends his free time working odd jobs to get out of his small Pennsylvania hometown."
Daniel Doheny's character is Luke Bowman, "the son of town mayor, Paula Bowman."
Natalie Malaika takes on the role of Lauren Howell, "a sarcastic assistant mortician at the local mortuary."
Newcomer Morgan Holmstrom is Sarah Blackwood, "former Special Forces now working on a fracking crew outside of town. She discovers a mysterious body which plunges her into the middle of a zombie invasion."
Kristy Dinsmore is playing Amy, "a life coach and daughter of the town doctor. When the dead start to rise, she begins a transformation as she fights for survival."
So yeah, this has nothing to do with Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD other than the fact that it involves zombies and has a character named Sarah. It sounds like this is going to take place all over a small town, instead of in one location like Romero's DAY… and apparently, going by the cast so far, everyone in the town looks like a model.
This Day of the Dead show is coming to us from Abbott Street Films and Cartel Entertainment. Kostanski is executive producing alongside with Cartel's Stan Spry, Jeff Holland, and Drew Brown, as well as Robert Dudelson, James Dudelson, and Jordan Kizwani of HiTide Studios.
Romero's widow has let fans know that this series is "neither sanctioned nor endorsed" by the George A. Romero estate.